So Long
by radonburn
Summary: Evan Way lived most of her life watching from a safe distance, away from the dangers, away from it all, but then some "crazy ass hole" decides to come fuck it all up. Whose fault is it really, the crazy ass hole's or her own? When walls are being torn down, there's bound to be destruction and bound to be a cost. So who will be the one to pay it?
1. Prologue

Wake up. Possibly shower. Get dressed. Make coffee. Drink coffee. Walk to work. Work. Close. Go home. Eat. Sleep.

That was Evan Way's typical everyday routine, any sort of unexpected interruption a rarity. She lived by these steps and savored it. She enjoyed her expectations and those expectations being met. Surprises were despised by her, and she hated not knowing the outcomes of situations she got stuck in. Hell, it wasn't a healthy way to live, but it worked for her.

She was twenty-one and had a nonexistent social life. If she could keep herself alive by earning a wage that could keep her flat rent payed and put food and booze in her fridge, she was satisfied.. She didn't want the hassles that came along with too many friends. It had been years since she contacted her family, and it was a miracle if she gave in and called her parents on Christmas. Yeah, it seemed like the bitch thing to do, but Evan just wanted to live her life peacefully. From what she learned in her lifetime, interacting with people was detrimental to the idea of "living in peace".

The only person she was remotely close to was the woman who lived across the hall and did her tattoos. It took Evan multiple visits to the tattoo parlor before she would actually get familiar enough to learn her name: Ashley Bennet., which was exactly what Evan called her. She never called her Ashley or even the formal Miss Bennet; she addressed her at Ashley Bennet. The woman soon got sick of the awkward formality, so insisted on Evan calling her Ginger, on account of the woman's hair. Evan hated the idea of nicknames; it meant they were getting close, but the woman did her tattoos, so she had to stay on her good side, so she complied.

Other than that, her best friend was her job, and her job was music, and that was more than enough to keep her content - or at least her version of content. Ever since she was a little girl, one love never faltered, and that love was music. To be able to basically own the record store she worked at now was basically a dream come true. The actual owner hand many branches of the shop she worked in, so the specific store Evan managed was basically hers. As long as the profits kept rolling in, Evan was free to run it as she pleased. This meant, of course, she never hired anyone else, ran the store herself, and allowed it to be the perfect excuse for her anti-social lifestyle.

Evan had built herself this perfect little shelter with an unfaltering barrier that kept her away from the world. She considered it to be one of her strongest creations. Little did she know, it wouldn't be holding up for long.

_Let the demolition begin._


	2. Chapter 1

Evan stood at the register of her music shop, mindlessly scrolling through the many songs on her iPod, while keeping a subconscious eye on the customers who were browsing the aisles. Her hair, dyed green, hung down in her face, having grown longer than she liked, but she just hadn't gotten around to trimming it. Two piercings adorned her face, one on her lip, the other on her freckled nose, just under a pair of black-rimmed glasses. A tight-fitting T-shirt, which once stported a band logo, but had long since faded, hugged her body, the short sleeves showing off her tattoo-littered arms. Her hazel eyes flicked up occasionally to check on the customers, and then back down to her iPod.

The customers perusing the store were a couple of teenage girls. Once they found what they were looking for, they made their way over to the cash register. Evan had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. They'd spent a long time in the store, and all they managed to decide on was some celebrity gossip magazine. She hated even having those in the shop because they attracted people like those two girls, who were giggling at the air, and it made her eyebrow twitch. Being judgemental wasn't her thing, and she gave everyone the benefit of the doubt, but occasionally she allowed herself a slandering thought or two.

"Find everything okay?" she asked, a forced smile on her features.

One of the girls nodded, her grin matching Evan's, though probably not nearly as forced. She rang them up, going as quickly as she could, and sent them on their way, purposely leaving out the robotic, "come back soon" that was usually said at the end of a transaction.

They walked out, leaving Evan to her iPod before she heard the chime of the bell that hung above the door, signalling another patron walking in. She glanced up shortly, noticing a man had taken the place of the teenaged girls. Evan's glance was short, enough to notice a somewhat tanned face standing out against the dark clothes and dark hair. Evan's eyes were focused on her iPod, but kept her ears open, catching the shuffling of the man's feet as he browsed the aisles.

Just seconds later, the man now stood at the register in front of Evan.

"Find everything okay?" Evan asked robotically, taking the CD from the man's hand, inwardly nodding in approval at the Muse album he had picked out.

"Yup," the tall man answered. "I bought that CD here, like, a long time ago, but it broke, so here I am."

Evan nodded, her lips pressed into a thin like as she scanned the CD. The man paid for his album and Evan nodded, smiling forcibly as she recited her speech. "Have a good day and come back soon."

"Actually," the man said, holding the bagged CD in on hand, and shoving the other into the pocket of his skinny jeans, "are you hiring.?"

"No, sorry," Evan said, shrugging.

The man let out an exasperated and dramatic sigh.

"Man!" he groaned, stomping his foot like a child, suddenly eliminating all aspects of maturity that were once a part of his features. "Why is no one hiring?!"

Evan stood there awkwardly, knowing it was a rhetorical question, and being glad, because she didn't want to say anything either. She simply watched the pale man before her run a frustrated hand through his shaggy, dark fringe.

"Please," he said, desperation coating his word. "I need this really bad."

"Sorry," Evan shrugged, "I'm just not hir-"

"I'll work for below minimum wage," the man interrupted.

"Uh, you know the definition of minimum, right?" Evan retorted, already getting fed up with the man's stubbornness. She didn't appreciate pushy people.

"You know, I'll even work here on just tips!" the man said, completely disregarding Evan's sarcastic remark.

"What would that do for you?" Evan raised her eyebrow at the man before her.

"Look," the man sighed, leaning down so he could rest his elbows on the register counter. This brought him even closer to Evan, and she instinctively stepped backwards. She also despised her personal space being invaded. The man ignored the gesture that would have typically been insulting. "You know that video sharing website, YouTube?"

Evan nodded.

"Well, that's my 'job' right now, and I'm staying with my friend," he explained. "I'm afraid he's beginning to think I'm just freeloading off him. I just need to get out, and if I say I got a job, he'll understand and won't be suspicious. I'll do all the work you tell me, all you have to do is pretend that I'm actually getting paid."

"You make videos for the internet?" Evan said instinctively, having zeroed in on the part of the man's ran more than anything else.

"Uh, yeah," the man spoke slowly, shifting away from the counter. "Is...is that a problem or something?"

"I don't really like fame-starved geeks," Evan said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh, so you think you're better than me, huh? An elitist?" the man's eyebrows had furrowed.

"No," Evan shook her head. "I don't mind nerds. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be in the spotlight. I just don't like people like that."

"That makes no sense," the man shook his head. "How can you be-you know, never mind! If you don't want arses like me working in your store, fine by me!"

"Hey, don't call yourself that," Evan said as the man was about to spin on his heels and leave.

"How am I the bad guy if I at least have the decency not to call you that?"

The man just blinked at Evan. He couldn't, for the life of him, understand how it was possible for her to discriminate against him, and not be elitist.

"I don't get you," the man finally said.

Evan just shrugged and stood there, an awkward silence growing between the two.

"Well, if you say you're not the villain, will you please do me this favor?" the man went back to his begging and groveling.

"I told you I'm not hiring," Evan said, almost laughing at how quickly the man had forgotten that he had been seriously insulted.

"Come on," the man persisted. "If anything, just let it be for a week or two until I find another job. I really cannot just lounge around my flat anymore. I swear I'll do all the work as if I was actually getting paid. Just a week or two, and I'm out of here, job or no job."

"You're stubborn," Evan shook her head, already not wanting to allow this guy into her shop because of the sheer fact that he annoyed her.

"Please," the man begged one last time, looking right into Evan's eyes. "I really need this."

Evan couldn't help but detect the sincerity and true desperation in the man's voice and eyes. She began to wonder about what could have been so horrible about his flatmate that he was doing this much just to get away from him, yet not move out. Evan quickly shut her thoughts up, not allowing herself to grow curious about some stranger.

"Fine," Evan gave in, unable to take much more of the man's annoying persistence. "Starting tomorrow, I'll give you two days to show that you can actually work here. If you're good, I'll take you for two weeks exactly. I'll pay you, but in two weeks, you will be done whether you found a job or not."

What had to be the biggest smile known to mankind appeared on the man's face, revealing every small tooth in his mouth.

"Thank you so much!" he exclaimed. He extended his hand forward. "I'm Daniel Howell, your new employee."

"Temporary," Evan rolled his eyes, taking his hand in a short handshake. "Evan Way. Be here tomorrow at eight."

"Will do, Boss!" Daniel nodded happily.

"Evan," Evan corrected him. "Just Evan."

"Right," Daniel nodded. "Evan. But you can call me Dan. It's easier than Daniel."

"No, thanks," Evan said plainly. "Daniel."

Evan actually expected Dan to be repulsed by her—for lack of a better word—rudeness. Other people that had come looking for a job, after being plainly rejected, walked away without a glance back.

"Ok, whatever works for you," Dan smiled. "I guess I'll go let my flatmate know, then. Thanks again. It means so much to me, Evan, you have no idea."

"Right, yeah, whatever," Evan shrugged. "Two weeks."

Dan nodded happily, still smiling and walked out of the record store, waving to Evan through the window even after he was outside.

Everything about Dan agitated Evan. He was too cheerful, he was too stubborn, and he was much too comfortable around strangers, yet Evan had hired him. The only thing redeemable about him was his taste in music. Evan figured that maybe that had been the trigger to her giving in. Usually, the people that came to look for a job were teenagers who didn't even know about 90% of the bands featured in that store. Evan decided that that was it. She had a weak spot for music.

The one thing, though, that annoyed Evan more than anything was the fact that Dan just kept bouncing back no matter how rude or insulting Evan was. For Evan, whenever she wanted to push people away, all she had to do was unleash a few of her sarcastic remarks and they were fleeing away from her in seconds. Normal people were easy for Evan to get rid of. Dan was not normal.


	3. Chapter 3

Evan arrived at her music store at exactly eight o'clock in the morning, finding that Dan was already outside, waiting patiently, a steaming cup of coffee clutched in both hands and held closely to his lips.

He was wearing all black as he was yesterday, his tan, but slightly flushed from the cold, face standing out in the dull hue of the morning light. The only color other than his face was the chocolate brown messenger bag that was slung across his torso, hanging at his side.

"Morning, Evan," he greeted happily when he saw Evan approaching. His slightly pointed nose was red at the tip.

"Yeah, morning," Evan mumbled, unused to the perkiness, much less that early in the morning. She unlocked the door as per usual, walked in, and Dan followed closely behind her.

"So why do you come here so early in the morning?" Dan asked, already ruining Evan's daily ritual because Evan liked it to be silent whenever there were no customers. "No one comes till way later."

Evan shrugged, not sure if Dan could see it from behind him, but she didn't bother to check. She shoved the keys into her pocket and got herself settled in the chair she had sitting behind the register.

"So," Dan said, leaning against the counter like he did the day before, causing Evan to scoot her chair back slightly, "we can just sit all morning?"

"No," Evan shook her head, "I can. You have things to do."

"Oh!" Dan grinned. "Work, right! Ok, what do you need me to do, Boss?"

"Evan," Evan corrected him. She reached into his pocket and pulled out a list she had written up the night before. She had put so much thought into what she could have Dan do just so he could keep him busy for the entirety of the day. "Start with this." Evan laid the list out on the counter and pointed to the first thing. Dan leaned in an uncomfortably close distance and Evan held herself from backing away.

"Shelve new inventory," Dan read out loud after taking a sip of his coffee. "Ok, where's the new inventory?"

"There's a box there," Evan pointed to the door that was over her right shoulder. "Go bring it and I'll show you where they go."

Dan nodded, set his coffee down on the counter, and went to the door that Evan had told him. He opened it and noticed that it was like a small employee's lounge almost. There was a sofa there, accompanied by a water cooler, and on the side there was a door to the bathroom. Dan smiled at the fact that Evan never hired, yet there was a room made for more than one employee. He pulled his messenger bag off and tossed it onto the old sofa that looked simply run down with age, but not use. Dan then bent over and picked up the box that was on the floor, and walked back out to Evan.

"You know the aisle where you got your Muse CD yesterday?" Evan asked. Dan nodded. "They go there. There's a section that's completely empty. Put the CD's in alphabetical order, by artist."

"Got it," Dan nodded. "You can finish my coffee if you want. It's already too cold for me. I only like it when it's steaming."

Evan looked down at the cup on the counter and raised her eyebrow.

"Gross," she muttered, unsure of whether or not Dan heard, but not caring either way. Dan smiled, spun around, and shuffled over to start stacking the CD's. Evan looked down at the drink again. As if she could ever share a drink with a stranger.

"I don't have herpes," Dan laughed, setting the box down on the floor and pulling it open. "But it's cool, I get it."

Evan decided she was better off not saying anything, so she just sat at her chair and pulled out her iPod.

"You know," Dan spoke, interrupting Evan's silence once again, "you should have music playing here."

Evan just continued scrolling through her iPod, hoping that Dan would take the hint and stop talking.

"You can get this thing and plug your iPod into it," Dan continued. "Then have speakers in the store. I mean it's a music store, it should have music."

"Don't really see a need for that," Evan shrugged.

"Oh come on," Dan went on. "It's a really good idea. The place is so quiet all the time; it gets dull."

Evan looked up at Dan, wanting to laugh right in his face. That was what she wanted, silence. She enjoyed the silence and Dan was not, in any way, allowing her to enjoy it.

"It can be really subtle and soft," Dan persisted. "Just like background music."

"Right, yeah, I'll look into that," Evan mumbled, just wanting to shut Dan up.

"What if…" Dan piped up again and it took all Evan had not to groan and slam her head against the counter. "What if you end up really liking me as an employee? And then make me, like, co-manager and we run this place together. I think we'd do a pretty good job."

"No," Evan said sharply. "Never."

"You never know," Dan sang.

"Oh, I do," Evan insisted, choosing to be the stubborn for that purpose. "Two weeks is all you have."

"Your loss," Dan shrugged, glancing over the stack of CD's in his hand. "I've never heard of these bands."

"Local bands," Evan said simply.

"Oh! No way, that's awesome. A lot of the stores hardly have local music."

"Yeah, I bugged my boss for it," Evan nodded, surprisingly not annoyed, because she enjoyed the subject matter. "There's some really good ones in there, too. I think they'll get somewhere."

"You recommend any?" Dan asked, placing them carefully into the shelf. "I'll buy a couple."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I love finding new music."

"I'll pick a couple of them out for you later," Evan offered.

"Wow," Dan laughed.

"What?"

"This is the most polite you've been since we met," Dan mused. "Now I know your thing is music."

"No shit, I own a music store," Evan scoffed, regretting the casual conversation.

"There you go again," Dan giggled and Evan forced herself not to laugh at how girly it sounded.

Dan picked up the now empty box and took it back to the lounge in the back.

"You already finished?" Evan asked as Dan reemerged from the room, flicking strands of his dark hair behind across his face.

"Yup," he nodded, walking in front of the register to look at the list that Evan had composed.

"That was fast," Evan noted, sliding the list closer to Dan and then walking around the register so she could examine how well Dan had done his job.

Dan stayed behind, scanning the list of things he had to do, while Evan looked at the neatly displayed CD's. They were, just as she had asked, in alphabetical order by artist. She nodded approvingly at how neatly and quickly Dan had completed his first task.

"Shit, I forgot the sign," Evan mumbled to herself, looking above the display of local artists. There was no sign signifying what section it was. Every other section had a sign that noted the genre.

"What sign?" Dan called, having heard her since it was so quiet.

"That says that these are local bands," Evan answered. "I wanted people to notice."

"I could make one," Dan offered.

"I don't want a hand written sign. People would walk right by it."

"No, I can make it look really nice, I swear. And it won't be handwritten," Dan insisted and Evan was about to argue, but she remembered who he was talking to. She would just have to put up with more of Dan's infuriating persistence if she began to counter him for even a second.

Evan turned away from the CD's and walked back over to the register, taking her seat again while Dan stared at her, waiting for her answer. His eyes were just as persistent as his voice.

"Fine," Evan sighed, getting sick and tired of always losing to this guy. "Finish the second thing on the list, then make a sign, and if it looks nice, I'll keep it. But if it looks like shit, I'm throwing it out."

"It won't, I promise!" Dan exclaimed, an excited smile lighting up his face.

The next thing on the list was to dust down all the shelves and CD's and Dan got right to it. There was a feather duster in the lounge, which was basically serving as a supply closet. Dan began quickly but intently dusting every single shelf in the store.

"So how often do you do this?" Dan asked, just as Evan was about to plug his ears with headphones.

"What?" Evan asked, irritated.

"Dusting."

"At least once a week," Evan answered.

"It's pretty tiring," Dan noted as he moved onto the next aisle. Evan nodded wordlessly, which she hoped would mean the end of conversation, but Dan continued nonetheless. "You do really good making this store look nice. This store I used to work at looked like shit. We never bother with dusting; it seems like such a hard job with no point."

"The dust gathers," Evan noted plainly.

"I know, I noticed that now," Dan said, bending over to reach the lower shelves. "I'm trying to compliment you. I'm telling you that you pay attention to small details and it makes the store look nice."

"If you're trying to kiss ass so I can keep you longer than two weeks, it's not gonna work."

"No, I swear!" Dan said, standing up quickly so he could face Evan over the shelves, being taller than them, so their eyes met. "I'm being serious and I don't kiss ass."

"Ok," Evan shrugged, "um, thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome," Dan grinned, going back to his dusting.

Evan took advantage of the short silence and quickly plugged her ears with her headphones, blocking out all sound with the music blaring in her ears. She leaned his elbows against the counter and brought her folded hands up to her lips, shutting her eyes and allowing himself to be lost in the music.

That day, she had "Hatebreeders" by the Misfits on repeat. She occasionally chose an old favorite of hers and obsessed over it for a day or two, listening to nothing else. Her foot was tapping along to the beat when her fifth repeat of the song was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder.

Evan opened her eyes and saw Dan standing in front of her, smiling, and holding the duster against his chest. He said something, but Evan couldn't hear, so she slipped a headphone out of one ear and waited for Dan to repeat himself.

"I'm done," Dan said.

"Ok," Evan nodded.

"Do you have, like, something you wanted me to make the sign on?" Dan asked.

"Do a quick mock up before you actually make the sign," Evan said. "I mean, just in case I don't like it, you don't have to waste your time."

"Ok," Dan nodded. "I have my computer in my bag. I'll be in the lounge if you need anything."

Evan nodded, and Dan walked into the "lounge" as he decided to call it. Evan took advantage of the silence, choosing not to deafen herself with music. She just laid her head down on her folded arms and enjoyed the peaceful silence she was usually able to enjoy when she was by herself. Something about being in a record store but being in silence always fascinated Evan. It was a contradiction that worked so perfectly for her. She shut his eyes for a moment, having always enjoyed darkness. Anytime she could relax, she just wanted to close her eyes and allow her other senses to live for her.

"Evan," a voice spoke and Evan's head snapped up, like the ears of a dog when it hears a sound in the distance. Evan saw Dan standing in front of the counter again. "Sorry, were you asleep?"

"Just relaxing," Evan shook his head. "You done with the sign?"

Dan nodded, holding a computer to his chest, but having the blank side facing Evan. He pulled the computer away from his body slightly to look at it, but still kept it away from Evan, feeling anxious about showing his creation, even if it was just a simple design, to anyone, especially a stranger.

"I'm kind of nervous," Dan sighed.

"It's just a sign," Evan said.

"Yeah, but it's still art," Dan shrugged, looking down again at the screen in front of him, eyeing it like there was a person on that paper staring right back at him, but not just any person, like it was a person he loved with all his heart. "_My_ art."

Evan could see the emotion in Dan's eyes, even if they weren't facing her. She felt extremely uncomfortable to be put in such an emotional situation. She had her hands at the edge of the counter, drumming it with her fingers. Her feet were propped up on the legs of the chair, bouncing up and down.

"I won't hate it," Evan said, pulling her hand up to the back of her neck and scratching at it. "I mean, maybe I won't like it as a sign, but I won't hate it. Just show it to me."

Dan's eyes finally snapped up to meet Evan's, except that Evan wasn't looking at him. She was glancing nervously around the room, practically praying to whoever or whatever answered prayers to hurry up and make Dan show her the sign so that the emotions could be drained out of the room.

"Ok," Dan sighed. "Ok, alright."

Dan took a deep breath and slapped the computer onto the counter, startling Evan with the sudden noise. Evan blinked a few times before actually focusing on the sign before her.

"Local Bands" was designed in such an elegant font that Evan would have sworn it was professionally out somehow if it wasn't for the obvious fact that Dan was standing in front of her.

The line of the letter "B" in "Bands" stretched out into an elegant swirl that engulfed the rest of the letters. A remarkable amount of effect was done around the letters, giving it a spotlight effect.

"You really did this?" Evan asked, lifting the computer up to her face to get a closer look. She couldn't lie. No matter how annoying Dan was, he had done an amazing job.

"Yeah, obviously," Dan giggled.

"It's really good," Evan nodded, setting the computer down again. "I was just expecting mediocre photoshop to be honest, but this looks really good. And you did it fast."

"You really think so?" Dan beamed, his tiny teeth flaunting themselves as his nose wrinkled and his eyes shrunk.

"I think you can tell that I don't bull shit," Evan shrugged. "I mean what I say."

"So you want me to actually do a sign? I'll even add color."

"That would be awesome," Evan nodded. "It'll really draw attention to that section, too. Perfect."

"When do you want me to do it?"

"You can just bring it tomorrow," Evan shrugged. "Or just bring the stuff tomorrow and do it here in the morning. There won't be much left for you to do."

"Awesome," Dan smiled. "I'll do that."

Evan nodded.

"Well, you won't have to do the next couple of stuff on the list until customers come," Evan shrugged. "It'll be busy around three, when school gets out. A lot of kids usually stop by here. They leave a mess."

"You mind if I bring a chair out here?" Dan asked.

Evan wanted to say no. She wanted with every fiber of her being to shake her head and tell Dan that she would rather he stay in the back so she didn't have to sit through his ear piercing babbling, but she couldn't get himself to do it. While it was so easy to be rude to people, and it was practically second nature to Evan, Dan had been helping her. Even if it was a "job," it was help nonetheless.

"Sure."

Dan smiled for the millionth time that day. Evan wondered how his face hadn't stuck that way permanently. He was in and out of the lounge in seconds, a chair in his arm. He unfolded it right in front of the door of the lounge, which wasn't far from the register.

Evan was already preparing herself for Dan's incessant rambling, but surprisingly it never came. She took a look over her shoulder and saw that Dan was putting all the energy he used for talking into his hand that was swiftly typing on his compute. With how quickly his hand moved, it almost seemed as though he wasn't typing anything comprehensible at all.

Evan couldn't help but be impressed with Dan's focus. He was a different person while he was computing. There were a couple folds of crumpled skin in between his eyebrows where they were tightly knit together. A couple of his miniature teeth were poking out of his mouth, nibbling on the side of his bottom lip. His eyes darted back and forth, dancing across the screen. Evan could have continued staring at him, being able to actually appreciate Dan as an equal while he wasn't chattering away.

Evan pulled her eyes away after a few more seconds, knowing it was getting weird for her to continue staring. She pulled his headphones up to her ears, her Misfits song still playing since she had never paused it. She got lost in his world of music, just as Dan was lost in his hobby.

Computers were to Dan what music was to Evan, an escape from reality, and a portal to a completely different world contained in the most mundane of items: keys, a mouse, and a pair of headphones.


End file.
